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I have always wondered on this but I'm not sure of the SE site that would best fit its description, I was wondering why Microsoft have removed the standard "My Computer" Icon from the desktop for the most recent Operating Systems I want to know the specific reasons as it makes navigation to drives a little bit long winded and tedious.

I know you can create a shortcut which would cut this out but im sure it was built into the layout of OS's such as Windows 98 and 2000, but I don't see why Microsoft scrapped the idea of it being there when you first log into your new system I also did not know whether it would be on topic at SU so I posted it here any ideas?

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    It would probably not be well received on any site, even though Super User would probably be the best fit. Except for the people at Microsoft who made the decision, people can only guess what the reason was.
    – Oliver Salzburg Mod
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 10:35
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    FWIW at least in Windows 7, it can be added via (Context Menu) » Personalize » Change Desktop Icons. At it's part of the modern two column Start Menu, it was probably redundant.
    – Daniel Beck Mod
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 10:56
  • @OliverSalzburg Ah I kinda guessed it wouldn't go down well so im happy I posted it as a discussion on here instead of an actual question on the main site
    – ThunderToes
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 11:24

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As pointed out in comments, this type of question is not on topic for Super User, or any other SE site. Simply put, we are not the ones at Microsoft (or Apple, or Linux Torvalds, etc) that makes the actual decisions.

As for getting help, if you specify the problem you are having, we can offer possible solutions to help out. You could try re-wording it as a question, such as

How can I get the My Computer icon back on my desktop? I noticed it is not there in newer versions of Windows.

This gives us a clear problem that you need solved, instead of asking why a decision was made. You could make it a much better question by also explaining what you tried to fix it yourself already, and why it didn't work.

I tried to make a new folder called My Computer, but it just acted like a folder, not like the actual My Computer shell folder! What can I try next?

Obviously, that's an extreme, but good questions here ask for a solution to a problem, and the community respects (and tends to upvote) the questions that show research effort, and trying things, on the user's side.

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  • I don't even want to think of this question. Because it would have to explain the reason "My Computer" is called something else in Windows 8.x
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 18:27
  • @Ramhound As it is in Vista, and Windows 7 as well
    – Canadian Luke
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 19:26
  • Thanks for this I knew how to do it I wasn't having any problem with it. It was purely curiosity and wondering if anyone was aware of a definitive answer I'm aware now that only Microsoft could answer this question but I highly doubt they would have time to explain such a menial point haha
    – ThunderToes
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 7:27

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